Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

It needs a special, economical path to development

S. Annamalai

`Choose places with good physical connectivity for SEZ'

MADURAI: Madurai is the most connected city in the State with its capital by air. Chopper services connecting the Temple City with Kodaikanal, Coimbatore and Udhagamandalam are also being talked about.

One of the most active ports of the country is located in Tuticorin. With four laning work gaining momentum, all the highways connecting the heart of south Tamil Nadu to the hinterland will be world class. Rail connectivity is now adequate, if not to the desired level.

With the Government making announcements on special economic zones and information technology parks for the south, the question now is whether this connectivity will suffice.

More than land value and availability of human resources, what the industry looks to is reliable connectivity, by air, road and rail, says Ligi George, former chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry, Madurai zone.

The CII has already mooted the creation of a manufacturing corridor, a knowledge corridor and a tourism corridor for south Tamil Nadu with Madurai as the hub. What is required when investments to the tune of over Rs.5000 crore have been firmed up for Madurai and neighbouring districts is upgrading the available connectivity, which was planned much earlier, without taking into consideration an industrial explosion.

There is a growing demand for air services to other inland and overseas destinations, especially when medical tourism is picking up in a big way.

Roads leading to smaller towns like Sivaganga should be improved by the State Highways department.

Inter-port express

The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been pleading for years for the doubling of Madurai-Dindigul rail section, the development of another railway station in Madurai and the introduction of an inter-port express between Tuticorin and Mangalore, to make use of the Konkan Railway.

While concentrating on infrastructure development on the one side the Government should make an informed choice of the location of the proposed SEZs, feel industrialists.

Any SEZ should be strategically located on the highway with connectivity to the nearest airport and Tuticorin port, in order to attract good industrial participation.

Otherwise, it would take years for an SEZ located far away from the line of development to get started. Nanguneri is referred to as an example.

The ideal location will be the Madurai-Aruppukottai road, feel industrialists, who do not approve of the choice of land available near Sattur in Virudhunagar district as the location for the proposed SEZ. This land, they say, can be allocated for a fireworks or printing cluster for which there is a vociferous demand from Virudhunagar district.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

It needs a special, economical path to development
Needed a well-connected path to progress
Bench and Bar, joint partners in rendering justice: Veeraraghavan
Site offers VAT norms in simplified manner
Weavers demand waiver of all loans
1,000 youths to be made FoPs
Meet on design and innovation
Caste-wise enumeration for voter list sought
Lawyers to suspend work today
Work begins at Meenakshi Temple
Bench lawyers to suspend work today
Lawyers to suspend work
Around the City
In Madurai Today

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu